It has long been known to apply cold compresses to a wearer's head for the alleviation of pain. One well known technique involves the utilization of a washcloth or the like which is soaked in cold water and applied to the head, the cold water with which the cloth is soaked being repeatedly replenished to maintain the desired low temperature. The limitations of such a technique are well known being not only an awkard procedure but frequently resulting in water pouring down the head of the wearer and onto the wearer's apparel. Another technique involves the use of an ice bag filled with ice which is merely placed on top of the head thereby providing a localized source of cold temperature.
It has been found that in the treatment of patients with a technique know as chemotherapy one of the side effects of such a treatment is the loss of hair on the part of the patient. While many techniques have been proposed to prevent such loss of hair, since techniques have been generally unsuccessful. However, it has been discovered that the application of a low temperature to the scalp area of a patient undergoing chemotherapy has been beneficial in eliminating or substantially reducing such hair loss. Unfortunately, the prior art does not provide any suitable device for the application of cold to the entire scalp area.
The following U.S. Pat. Nos. are representative of the prior art to which the subject invention pertains all of which are clearly distinguishable both structurally and functionally from applicant's invention:
1,964,655 Williamson PA1 3,696,814 Umemoto PA1 3,780,537 Spencer PA1 3,840,918 Shave PA1 4,172,495 Zebuhr et al.
The Williamson patent relates to an ice bag which is somewhat in a nature of a belt, but which may be filled with ice and buckled around a selected portion of a wearer's face or head. The Umemoto patent relates to a headgear for supplying water to evaporatively cool and forehead and upper portion of a wearer's head. The Shave patent relates to a therapeutic pillow and the Spencer patent to an envelope of plastic material containing a gel for use as a hot and cold compress. The Zebuhr et al. patent relates to a slurry-cooled helmet wherein a plurality of tubes connected to a source of cooled slurry are utilized to circulate the cooled slurry through a headgear for athletic activities.